Lionization
by Shadow of God
Summary: The path to the top is only accessible by Huntsmen. Follow Adam Taurus on his journey to the top of Atlesian society whilst dealing with all sorts of problems along the way. He hopes to solve society's issues from the inside with the help of his extraordinary semblance. [Gamer Adam]
1. Chapter 1

**This is a recreational project with no set timetable or plans. Adam in this story will be OoC to the one in the show. He and Blake will not be in a relationship. He will not even join the White Fang. This is a Gamer System story. There are some AU aspects.**

**I feel the obligation to let any readers know this immediately so as not to get any expectations dashed later. It is purely a work done for fun and as writing practice. Informative reviews will only serve to help me a lot faster.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.**

**Chapter One: Beginnings 1.**

"You've got five minutes till showtime kid. The boss bet big on this match so you know better than to lose.", said a voice from outside the room.

I turned back to look over my weapon. It was a standard long sword. I was actually surprised to get something decent to fight with this time. That fat bastard must really be serious about this match. Almost makes me want to lose on purpose. Almost. The consequences wouldn't be worth such a petty win on my part.

I look around my little room and can't help wondering how long I'm going to be stuck doing this. Fighting for my life for a couple more Lien than what the average miner makes. Then I remember the bad conditions of the mines. How dangerous it could be. How it killed my parents. How that made me want more out of life.

I wasn't going to end there. I'd already decided that I'd go as far in life as I could. I'm not destined to be fodder for the strong like the others who are just fine working themselves to death in the mines.

The opening of the door caught my attention. Five minutes already?

"It's time kid. You better not fuck this up.", the man from earlier said. Like I would even have a chance to feel bad about losing.

The matches at the particular arena that I fought at were a very special case even amongst the other death match arenas. Most others settled for seeing poor and desperate bastards beat other poor and desperate bastards into a pulp. The term death match was a loose one since you could actually surrender. Rarely was your opponent so bloodthirsty as to still try to kill you.

But at 'big boss' Skye's arena the opponents you fought were guaranteed to kill you if you lost. After all, Grimm apparently didn't know how to do much else. There was no surrendering. Once you got in the arena you either won or you came out in unrecognizable pieces. The Grimm seemed to be a hassle to catch and handle but I guess the chance to see people get mauled to death caused Grimm Death Matches to be especially popular.

As I walked closer towards another possible life or death battle I had to once again question what drove me to such extremes when others were fine settling down with mediocrity. There's only so many times you can remember watching your parents blow themselves sky high trying to feed your leeching little ass before it lost its effect. I would be fifteen in a month, meaning about four years would have gone by already. The trauma was still there but was also joined by several new ones. Apart from not wanting to rely on others I'd also decided not long after i started fighting that I wasn't going to settle for this life.

The arena was merely a checkpoint in the tutorial city of Mantle. Ever since I was little that one gift that I got from my parents has never left my hands. Originally it was nothing more than a game. Cool to have especially since such a luxury was extremely rare for kids like me. I had played it through dozens of times out of boredom as getting another game was out of the budget.

Then life had turned upside down and I'd nearly spiraled into deep depression. Not having parents didn't matter in Mantle. There were no orphanages. Orphans didn't get a grant of some sort. Getting lost in depression meant not working. Not working meant no lien to pay for life's necessities. I was bound to die of starvation at that point.

But then I'd remembered my little game. The gift from my parents. Something to remember that they had loved me and cared for me to the best of their abilities. The story was extremely cliche. The classic hero's journey. Everything from the dead parents to the exploration of a new world to the meteoric rise of the no name underdog into a legendary hero. It was the same story but this time it sort of hit me in a way that it never had before.

This is what I wanted out of life. I want to be powerful and self reliant just like the heroes in games like this. I don't necessarily want to be a true hero but having the strength and resourcefulness of one would be enough. That is why I am fighting. To become something more. To rise above my peers who are fine with mediocrity. I'd always been a smart child and my parents tried to encourage that in me by buying me lots of books. I knew what I had to do the moment I'd decided to be unordinary.

Huntsmen were the celebrities of the world. Essentially super beings who were the only reliable people that could handle the stronger Grimm. They were the height of power and status. And becoming one wasn't easy.

After preschool, education in Mantle could get really expensive depending on how far you expected your kid to go in life. To apply to participate in Atlas Academy's initiation a candidate needed to meet three requirements. A standard education up to the age of seventeen, parental consent and a five hundred lien initiation fee.

The first I would have in a little over two years time. The second gets waived with an orphan status. The last is why I'm working my butt off fighting in the most dangerous arena in Mantle during after school hours when other kids who could afford to go to school are having club meetings or hanging out.

To save up enough money for both my education and the five hundred lien fee after paying rent and buying food I needed more than a simple mining job. The basic arenas paid barely enough to scrape by but Skye's paid just a bit more. The little extra was why I wasn't too skinny and malnourished to even fight in the first place. Otherwise I would have to skimp out on much needed food to save up enough to pay the fee.

The roaring of the crowd finally pulled me out of my little mental dialogue. I gave the place a little look and snorted. Full. As usual. Nothing like watching a kid fight a Grimm to the death to get some people going. I don't necessarily blame them. I wasn't a saint myself. Everyone got off to something. That was a truth that I'd unfortunately learned very early on. I was no exception. At least my desires were more normal.

"Welcome to the main event of the night! Everyone's favorite Grimm Slayer is in the House again. The youngest fighter in Mantle will be going against a special Grimm this time. This one's already killed six other veterans in a row.", Skye's voiced boomed out of the speakers surrounding the arena.

A special Grimm? Killed six people already? That was a bit concerning. Up till now I'd always been one of the smaller, less popular fighters. Taking on young Grimm. Sabyrs mostly, even a few Beowolves. Then last week I'd outdone myself and killed an Ursa. A small less armored one but an Ursa nonetheless. Skye was a greedy bastard but he had some tact and never really made me fight anything too far above my skill level. So I was fairly sure that he was just trying to get more people to bet against me so that he could earn more money. It wouldn't be the first time he'd tried to do that.

"Everyone got their bets in? Good. Because the match is about to start. Three, two, one ..." he trailed off.

"Release the Grimm!", the entire audience shouted excitedly. That was the little catchphrase that Skye made popular years ago. Now the crowd shouting it out had become tradition. People are weird.

Dropping all extraneous thoughts and focusing on the battle I unsheathed my sword and got into a loose stance. I'd always been a quick study and a smart kid but not to the extent of being a genius. There was, however, one thing that I was proud to be able to say about myself. I was an extremely talented fighter. It's the reason why I'm still here today.

The Grimm came out of it's cage on the opposite side of the arena from me. When I saw it I cursed a little. It definitely wasn't young. This had to be an Alpha even if a relatively small one. At least it was a Saber. That was the Grimm that I had the most experience fighting. Of course being an Alpha meant that this one would be a trickier fight. It had killed six other people already.

Usually the Grimm tended to burst out of their cage frothing at the mouth to kill something. This one peered out first, locked eyes with me and then carefully stalked its way out.

The two of us started circling each other. The roar of the crowd had already been drowned out by my focus. More so than ever if my attention slipped for just a little bit too long I would be dead.

As we circled around we also got closer and when it was only about twenty feet away I could see it more clearly without devoting too much attention to checking it out.

It was at least twice the size of a regular Sabyr and was covered in even more ice. The size wasn't really the problem. Regular Sabyrs were already heavier than most adult men could handle. A little more didn't make a difference.

No the important part was the ice on its skin. Sabyrs essentially had bone armor on their hips, ribs and shoulders. Attacking such areas was suicide unless you were a huntsman or just freakishly strong. That made the skin the only real target. Even if their skin was frozen as long as you practiced with enough blocks of ice you could be fairly confident in your ability to cut them. If you could just you get the right angle and apply the right amount of force you would, nine times out of ten, get a clean cut without getting your weapon stuck.

At this point it's patience must have run out because I saw it's muscles tense up in the telltale way that they usually do for a lunge. Must not be used to an opponent that spends this much time thinking.

I sidestepped it's lunge and turned around to face it as quickly as I could. Good thing too because the bastard was already dashing in to close the distance.

This time it went for a swipe that was too fast to dodge and I was forced to go for a hasty parry. A full block was nearly impossible at my strength. I'd just be disarmed. In more ways than one.

Even parrying, a skill that I was very good at, was difficult given just how much force was behind it's claws.

I was forced to retreat by a step, then another and another as it started performing some sort of combo. Such an attack style was unheard of in younger Grimm that generally just kept trying to tackle you and sent predictable one off attacks. This was a coordinated set of claw strikes that were fairly difficult to predict as it randomly switched up which leg it was going to attack with.

It didn't take me long to realize what it was trying to do. It's trying to tire me out. It was trying to force me into a position where I would be too fatigued to fight back. After all Grimm seemed to never get tired. This was a trait that they tended to be too dumb to lean on. But this one is different. It knows that it can simply keep throwing these hits until I make a mistake. That's when the real attack will come.

My arms had already started to go numb and my fingers were beginning to cramp up. I've got to end this quickly. I can't let it dictate the pace of this fight or I'll die.

The next time it sent a swipe I made the choice to force a dodge and scrambled to the side. It's claws just barely reached me and cut right through my shirt to leave shallow marks on my back. They stung like a bitch but adrenaline and experience kept me from even flinching at the wound. I'd managed to get away.

Once more taking a stance I decided to go on the attack instead. I had to end the fight before it could pull any more tricks out. It seemed to respond by setting itself up to take the hit and retaliate.

I wasn't dumb enough to let myself fall back into the same position that I had just gotten out of. When I was close enough to attack I feinted to the left and in doing so dodged it's attempt to take a bite out of my face. I normally tried to be fancy with my dodges to dazzle the crowd. Sometimes the spectators with looser pockets would give a little extra to the fighter, especially if they won big.

This wasn't the time for any sort of elegance though. The little pirouette that I barely managed to pull off was just to help me gather enough momentum for a decisive slash. It worked.

The Grimm howled and jerked away from me as I cut it right across the side from it's neck to it's hip. I even made sure to hit the skin between it's exposed ribs and it's spinal bones. It wasn't enough to end the fight but it would definitely hinder it at least. That was all that I needed.

It retreated a bit and watched me with more cautious eyes. I could tell that it was favoring it's left side more. I didn't let it have any time to itself and rushed back in to press my advantage. Now it was the one on the retreat. Blocking some of my strikes with it's teeth and claws but taking more and more damage to it's skull as it's two right legs were being liabilities.

Many Grimm had a tendency to rely on their bony outgrowths to serve as their defense. It was a crutch but an extremely convenient and hard to deal with crutch. Like I said before there were only two ways to cut through the bones on a Grimm. Be a huntsman or be freakishly strong even compared to an adult human or faunus male.

I wasn't a huntsman and I wouldn't exactly call my strength freakish yet but for now? It would be enough. Especially with the preparation I'd made.

Grimm tended too rely on their little skull helmets too much against regular people. It was a crutch. This Grimm wasn't any different. It had been taking hits there but didn't care because it thought it was successfully blocking me. It wasn't.

Every other strike that I swung at it was directed at the same general area on it's forehead. I wasn't strong enough to cut right through it but I was definitely capable of gouging it out bit by bit. And now the bone on that spot should be shallow enough to pierce through.

I suddenly jumped back and gave it some space. The Sabyr couldn't seem to grasp the situation and floundered for a bit before getting it's guard back up and staring me down. It was definitely confused as to why I'd given it breathing room all of a sudden.

I made sure to telegraph my every move as I recklessly charged at it. While many Grimm could and did show some intelligence, I've never seen one actually act with any sort of wisdom or cunning before. The Sabyr just could not seem to understand that I was baiting it and instead it saw a chance for it to end this fight.

It charged at me as I stayed the course right up until it was about a foot in front of me. It must have expected me to dodge again. Maybe feint it and strike once more. I didn't.

I could see the shock in its eyes as the tip of my sword was suddenly on a crash course with it's head. I allowed myself to smirk as the blade dug right through the spot that I'd gouged out and then sunk halfway up the blade into the Grimm's head.

It was dead before it even landed and I'd gotten away with nothing more than a little bruising from being bumped into by its dead body while trying to dodge to the side. The tumble was rough and I'm sure that I've sprained my wrist from trying to abort my stab a little bit too late but all that wasn't important right now.

I'd won.

I'd won and once again validated my choices through action. I can do this. I have what it takes to make it to the top. I'll become my own hero and save myself in the process.

The crowd was positively deafening and even though the adrenaline was wearing off I couldn't help but smile as I raised a hand up. It felt good to accomplish something and be recognized for it. I won't lie. This was a minor aspect of why I did things this way.

After all, who didn't want to be lionized?

I made sure to get my sword from the dissolving Grimm before leaving the arena and getting my arm checked out. Skye of course was ecstatic about how much he had made. I got my payment and a few bonuses from some fans then left the arena around midnight.

The walk home was cold and yet bustling. People were out doing stuff even this late at night. No one was dumb enough to try to mug me as I took multiple shortcuts between buildings and arrived at Misty's Apartments. There was a letter on my doormat after opening the door. The landlady wanted my 'services' again. Everyone has their fetish and if it means paying a fraction of the normal rent for an above average apartment then I'll keep on catering to Miss Misty until I can leave.

As the painkillers that the, probably, mob doctor gave me began to set in that night I couldn't help but look forward to the future. Things were hard but nothing came free. I can't tell if I am on the right path but I'll be damned if I half ass things due to indecision.

I fell asleep thinking about what kind of weapon I will use as a huntsman. Whatever the parameters may be, it's definitely gotta be a sword.

**X-X-X**

The following morning I woke up to something that changed my life.

I'd been hoping to awaken my aura on my own for years now. The only other alternative was to get a huntsman who knew how to do it to awaken it for you. And depending on how nice they were that could cost you a lot of Lien. Plus it was illegal to do so I'd have to involve myself even more with the underworld in Mantle to even find someone able, much less, willing to do actually it.

I knew that it was possible to awaken to it by yourself but I also knew that it took a lot of factors that I couldn't control or even take into account to make it happen. It could awaken due to a spike of emotion, serious injury, etc and despite experiencing both on multiple occasions it had never happened.

But I've finally done it. I've finally awoken my aura.

Or at least I think I have.

**Congratulations!**

**You have fulfilled all of the requirements to awaken your aura and semblance.**

**Your last battle has been evaluated. You have been rewarded with;**

**-25 Attribute Points.**

**-3 Skill Points.**

**-A Unique Skill: [Battle Meditation]**

**Status**

**Adam Taurus**

**Arena Fighter**

**Grimm Slayer**

**Attributes [25]**

**Aura: D665**

**Vitality: E972**

**Strength: D108**

**Agility: D125**

**Dexterity:D365**

**Intellect: D756**

**Senses: D570**

**Charisma:C175**

**Luck: B369**

**Skills [3]**

**-Household Care 3**

**-Mixed Martial Arts 4**

**-Swordsmanship 5**

**-Acrobatics 3**

**-Battle Meditation 1**

**New Task!**

**Go through the tutorial.**

I stared dumbly at the holographic screen in front of my face. Is ... is this a video game interface?.


	2. Chapter 2

**If you are still reading this after he first chapter and it's warnings then thank you for giving this story a try. I cannot promise that it will be a super awesome one but I can promise to do my best. Further AU warning that a few major and several minor changes will take place. Some characters will be a little OoC and some will take on completely different roles altogether. Lastly and I shouldn't need to say this but this story is rated M for a reason. This is more so for those squicky about sexual scenes and less about over the top violence.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.**

**Chapter One: Beginnings 2.**

I kept staring at the screen in front of me for a few more seconds. Then I felt it. The grin that was slowly widening on my face would have made babies cry but I didn't care. Why? Because I just got my aura and my semblance at the same time. If awakening your aura by yourself was already rare then discovering your semblance at the same time is almost unheard of. This is wonderful.

**New Task!**

**Go through the tutorial.**

The prompt made itself known once again and pulled me out of my shocked euphoria. I took a couple seconds to breath and focused on the screen again. It is a wonderful thing that this has happened sure but it would be pointless if I didn't even know what my abilities were or how to use them.

At first glance it seems to superficially imitate a video game's interface. And there are multiple screens up at once with the latest ones at the front. Almost like the tabs on a computer.

I tried touching the screens and didn't feel any degree of resistance. Not enough to stop my hand from going through it at least but I could still tell that there was something there and that it was not just a figment of my imagination.

If it's really an interface then I should be able to interact with it. But how? It's clearly not touch based. Vocal?

"Um … ", I cleared my throat a little and said with little confidence,"Tutorial?", I said awkwardly. If it isn't touch based then does it take voice commands?

**The Interface relies on mental commands.**

**Please think 'Tutorial'.**

Oh. Okay. Tutorial. The screen immediately changed to another larger one. Guess it worked. I shook my head. This is beyond surreal. If I wasn't so sure that I am awake I'd have thought this was just another lucid dream.

**This Interface is the means of communication between you and your semblance. Your semblance focuses on one concept only. Rapid Personal Growth. It has taken on the format that your subconscious responds the best to in terms of motivation. Thus the video game system that it uses.**

That's … actually really amazing. It's all about my growth? And it functions similar to a video game? I had read that semblances were basically expressions of their owners but this is incredible. If this works like I think it does then it really is tailor made for me. Like my own real life RPG system. Hah! It even has the acronym down! Is that a pun?

While I wasn't losing my mind yet I was slowly devolving into an excited little child at the situation unfolding before me. And there's still more!

**The Interface is divided into multiple parts that function together towards the goal of your mental, physical and metaphysical self improvement.**

**First is the Status. This provides information on your true name, occupation and the most impressive title which you bear.**

**Next are the Attributes. They are an accurate numero-alphabetical measure with which your physical, mental and metaphysical aspects are gauged. The letter grades are based on comparisons with other beings and the number grades denote your position on each letter grade's scale. Attributes can be raised through effective training and by assigning attribute points.**

**There are nine attributes;**

**-Aura: The cumulative grade of the amount of aura that you have, the density of your aura and the degree of control that you have over it. It does not determine how well you can manipulate it but can help you do it.**

**-Vitality: The quality of your life force. Determines the regeneration rate of your aura, stamina, resistance to disease, resistance to death, virility, metabolism, general healthiness, etc.**

**-Strength: The amount of raw physical force that you can exert. Closely related to physical offensive power, durability, environmental resistances, etc.**

**-Agility: The raw speed behind all of your actions. Closely related to reaction time, reflexes, thought speed, etc.**

**-Dexterity: Your finesse. Closely related to skill execution, ease of movement, coordination, etc.**

**-Intellect: Your learning capacity, thought processing, decision making and mental fortitude. Closely related to skill acquisition and development.**

**-Senses: Your perception of the world around you. Determines the quality of your five primary senses, aura sense, spatial awareness, instinct and intuition.**

**-Charisma: The degree to which other sentient beings find you attractive be it in terms of appearance, personality, power, wealth, influence etc. Closely related to leadership skills, relationship management and communication.**

**-Luck: The relative effects of probability. Determines the chances that something fortunate will occur.**

**The next main feature is Skills. These are all actions which you have at least a proper handle of. They are graded from 1 to 10. Average/Unskillful actions are all technically graded 0. Grades 1 to 3 show advanced mastery. Grades 4 to 6 show professional mastery. Grades 7 to 9 show exceptional mastery. Grade 10 is reserved for legendary mastery.**

**Grade 0 skills are not monitored as technically every mine has level 0 mastery at the very least in anything that they know how to do. Legendary mastery means that a skill has begun to infringe on the limits of reality. This grade is nigh impossible without an ability such as this system.**

**The Reward feature takes note of all of your actions and rewards you for completing anything significant. The tier of reward depends on both the difficulty of the action and how well the action was performed.**

**The lowest tier only grants attribute points. The next tier adds skill points. And the last tier adds a unique skill. Actions can be dynamic or come in the form of assigned tasks. Tasks will at least give you a tier two reward. Dynamic actions are far more varied in terms of the reward tier.**

**You have no outstanding tasks.**

**The reputation feature helps you to create, maintain and develop all of your relationships. It measures your social status and worth in the eyes of those who at least know you on a personal level and whose opinion you are interested in knowing.**

**The relationship grades are Vilified, Hated, Disliked, Neutral, Liked, Loved and Exalted. Next to the grade will be the exact relationship between you and the individual from their perspective.**

**You have two qualifying relationships.**

**-Misty Garnet: Liked/Boy Toy.**

**-Finn Verdant: Neutral/Cash Cow.**

That's a lot to take in. This goes even more in-depth than most games that I have played. The details seem to make sense. And if it's entire reason for existing is to help me grow then it does make sense for it to have a proper means of measuring my progress.

The relationship aspect is kind of sad and a bit annoying to see. Boy Toy is a bit of a stretch though. It is more of an exchange. Regular sex with a hot boy half her age and all she has to do is cut his rent down to a token amount so she won't have to lie about him paying some kind of rent. The apartment building is a cut above the norm in Mantle so four years into this little 'exchange' and I can't find a reason to complain.

Sure she's definitely a cougar but I also get to have regular sex at age fifteen. This is the sort of stuff that the other boys at school fantasize about all the time. I definitely ain't complaining.

The Cash Cow bit though is more than a little annoying. I wonder what he'll do when I suddenly stop coming to make him money? Atlas Academy is basically funded by the kingdom so I won't ever need to worry about money again. I will miss Miss Garnet though. She's older but she's still pretty hot for her age.

Speaking of getting into Atlas I wonder how close I am to being ready? I know that I can fight low level Grimm already but is that enough?

What was my current status again?

**Status**

**Adam Taurus**

**Arena Fighter**

**Grimm Slayer**

**Attributes [25]**

**Aura: D665**

**Vitality: E972**

**Strength: D108**

**Agility: D125**

**Dexterity: D365**

**Intellect: D756**

**Senses: D570**

**Charisma: C175**

**Luck: B369**

Is this good? Bad? Okay? How do I know how good I am?

**There is no clear cut distinction between a civilian and a huntsman in terms of attributes. However the average Huntsman Trainee has attributes in the D and C grades. You just barely qualify.**

That was a harsh blow to the ego. After years of fighting and honing my combat skills I only just barely qualify?

I thought about it some more and I guess it makes sense. Huntsmen are the pinnacle of strength. They wouldn't have struggled so much against a single Grimm like I did.

All that means is that I have to train even harder to make the cut. Just barely qualifying isn't enough. I can't just be a huntsman. I've gotta become one of the best. No, _the_ best. Heroes never come second place. They always become the best of the best. If I want to become as strong as one then I've gotta get stronger faster!

**Task Complete!**

**Rewards;**

**-5 Attribute Points.**

**-1 Skill Point.**

**New Task!**

**Advance all attributes to grade C before the initiation. A Hero is never second place. Enter Atlas Academy with, relatively, top class attributes!**

Seems like tasks can be generated by strongly desiring something. That's neat. Now I'm sure to get a good reward for every major thing that I do.

But how do I train them all up an entire grade in less than two years? There's only so much I can accomplish with regular training and the arena. I don't even know how to use my aura. I mean I get the theory behind it but putting that into practice is beyond me right now.

I thought about it some more until I was distracted by the sound of my stomach seeking attention. Maybe I'll think of something after breakfast.

X-X-X

It's a Saturday so I've got nowhere to be as school is closed today and I have no friends. Which I'm starting to think is the reason why my only two relationships are with my landlady and my boss.

I'd already gotten out of bed, showered and settled down for some Pumpkin Pete's by this point. It was the equivalent of concentrated diabetes but damn does it taste good.

Back to the task at hand I need to figure out a training plan to complete that task. The key to everything a huntsman does is aura. The first thing that I need to do is learn how to use it. Then learn how to make the shield.

Let's give it a try.

I close my eyes and try to meditate and feel the world around me. The process is a lot more vague than I would have liked it to be. It doesn't take me long to realize that I might be over complicating things. It's always described as an instinctual thing. I don't need to try to find it like some mystical energy. I've just got to call it out. It's my soul after all.

As soon as I had the thought I felt it coming out of my skin. The feeling was wierd. Sometimes warm, sometimes cool. It's like a layer of gel that's so light that it might as well be air. I open my eyes and literally see red. It's a beautiful sight to see it for myself.

"This is my aura.", I couldn't help but say out loud. Both joyful and excited. I felt energized all of a sudden like I could do anything. The high wasn't enough to cloud my judgment but it was a pleasant heady feeling. Like waking up from a wonderful dream. I loved it.

I tried to move it about a little and met with very little success. It barely even seemed to pay attention to me. I wasn't frustrated however. This was to be expected. I couldn't gain mastery over it that quickly. It would be too easy. After a while I even started to get a headache and feel tired. The red haze around looked much thinner as well.

It seems that manipulating your aura, even unsuccessfully, uses up some of it. I'll make a point to practice controlling it every morning and save my physical training for the evenings. Everything else that I need to do will be done between those two times. This will be my schedule for now. I've got a bit under two years to complete the task and a reliable way to keep track of my progress. I can do this.

**X-X-X**

**A Few Weeks Later.**

**X-X-X**

I swung my sword repeatedly. My chest was bare and exposed to the elements. I was attempting to raise my swordsmanship skill. By this point I'd already learned to control my aura and even gotten the shield down. It was enough to keep the cold from killing me in a few hours.

This has been my routine for the past couple of weeks. I'd tried to figure out what to improve on next after getting my aura to, mostly, do as I tell it and settled on getting better at fighting. My physical attributes have improved tremendously in that time and I was more than a match for an adult twice my size but I chose to stick with what I knew and focused on relearning the basics of swordsmanship.

There's something to be said about the feeling of cutting through a metal rod with a sword. The day that I got strong enough and learned to channel my aura into my sword was a satisfying one. I'd just been trying to look cool and didn't think about it too hard. It was just like in the games when the top half slides off due to gravity.

The fights at the arena were becoming a joke to me now. I fought at least three times a night instead of once and made just as much more money. Of course I kept things entertaining so that the audience didn't lose interest but I never got hurt again even when I didn't use my aura.

It's been about two hours since I started training today and I'm almost out of energy. But I can feel it. Any moment now the skill is gonna upgrade. Then my swordsmanship will be in the exceptional tier!

**Swordsmanship increases by one point.**

**Swordsmanship 7.**

"Finally.", I said tiredly as I allowed myself to fall over and lie in the snow. That was enough training for now. If I push myself too much I'll probably just die.

Show me my attributes and skills.

**Attributes [278]**

**Aura: D789**

**Vitality: E972**

**Strength: D789**

**Agility: D764**

**Dexterity: D834**

**Intellect: D756**

**Senses: D576**

**Charisma: C263**

**Luck: B369**

**Skills [4]**

**-Household Care 3**

**-Mixed Martial Arts 5**

**-Swordsmanship 7**

**-Acrobatics 4**

**-Battle Meditation 1**

**-Aura Manipulation 2**

**-Aura Shield 1**

**-Aura Channeling 1**

I've earned a lot of attribute points over the last few weeks. I chose to save them until I reached the point where normal training won't work anymore. I've begun to reach that limit recently so I'll start using them up from now on. I've even raised a few skills up in the process.

It's finally time to spend them but I'll need to be careful. I noticed that ever since the tutorial I have not gotten another task or skill point. And the number of attribute points that I get from the same activities keeps lowering. I don't even get anything from fighting in the arena besides money.

Attribute and skill points will take more and more difficult actions to acquire in correspondence with my increasing ability to do things. It's a fair system and one that motivates hard work. I can deal with that.

I'll invest my attribute points in my vitality to bring it up to the D grade at least and increase my recovery speed as well as my stamina. It will allow me to train harder and more frequently. That will allow me to reach my goals sooner.

**Vitality: D250**

I can feel myself suddenly get better? No more vigorous. My lung capacity has increased. I'm breathing more slowly and gently yet getting far more air in. My muscles feel less tired too. The effects of raising an attribute almost feel like magic. The experience is amazing.

Next up are the skill points. These are even more valuable and definitely must not be wasted. If I want to grow stronger faster then I need to start hunting wild Grimm. Nothing else in the city is a real challenge. I just need to pick the skills that will make such expeditions into the wild not completely suicidal.

I'll raise my aura skills then. With some practice afterwards they will be what will really keep me alive when facing Grimm out in the tundra.

**Aura Shield increases by two points.**

**Aura Shield 3**

**Aura Channeling increases by two points.**

**Aura Channeling 3**

Now my only offensive and defensive aura skills are at the top of the advanced tier. That should be good enough if I don't stray too far away from Mantle. If I run into anything too dangerous then I'll just run away.

I decided to return to Mantle. The area I train at is not too far away from the gates. The Grimm don't dare come anywhere close. The automated defenses just rip them to shreds. I've had the luck of seeing them in action once and I have to admit. They're pretty cool.

Now that training is over and my shirt is back in its rightful position I make the small jog over to the gate, pass through security and begin wandering the streets of Mantle. I could use a nice ice cream cone to really cool down. Or a smoothie. Nope, definitely a milkshake. Cold snacks aren't the most popular in Mantle but I can't do without them.

**X-X-X**

"You've definitely improved lately, honeybun. You're actually starting to show a bit of skill.", Misty said as she lay on her side watching me get dressed.

She was a middle aged woman with good genes that kept her from aging as quickly as her peers. Her bronze skin had only the faintest of wrinkles and her blue eyes twinkled with the sort of playful light you'd expect to find in a child.

She took good care of herself and it showed in her looks. Her blue hair looked good even as messed up as it was right now and she clearly exercised as her physique demonstrated. Many wonder why she is still single. Most assume that she just prefers to not be in a relationship.

I know better. To put it simply, she likes her men young. Teenage to be more precise. Boys about my age. If she'd been a regular cougar then no one would bat an eyelash but the age of adulthood in Remnant is sixteen and her range starts below that.

That's the only reason why our relationship is even possible. She was even willing to completely waive my rent but I didn't want my finances to look suspicious when Atlas Academy does their background check. While they may not notice that I'm paying too little as rent the complete absence of a rent history would definitely stand out.

"We've been doing this for over four years now. It weirder that I'm only just now showing some 'improvement'.", I said making sure to emphasize improvement with air quotes before going back to buttoning up my shirt.

"I could always tell that you were never really into me. No matter how cute your face looks once it's scrunched in pleasure I'm not dumb enough to confuse it with love or anything of the sort. You never really had a reason to go further than you already have.', she said still smiling at me.

I didn't reply and just let her keep watching. She isn't wrong. She's hot and knows how to make me lose myself but other than mutual pleasure there are no real emotions involved in our relationship.

The amicable silence went on for a bit until I finally finished my outfit by setting my hair straight. It spiked up naturally but still needed a little bit of effort to keep the spikes neat and organized. I'm not super vain but I do like to present myself well. I'll be the first to admit that my pride and ego are quite large.

I gave one last look at the mirror on the dresser. I know I looked good even if I barely ever leveraged it outside of this fling with Misty and a couple of girls at school. Red hair, fair skin and silver eyes went well together. My face had a sort of beauty to it that didn't make me look any less male.

If I wasn't into girls I might find myself attractive too. C grade charisma really did count for something. I'm actually slightly embarrassed that it's still one of my highest attributes. Without getting any attribute points. It's got its uses though. Like my current situation. I'll be sure to use it more once I get to Atlas. Maybe I'll get some rich girl to fall for me.

"You're planning on going to Atlas aren't you?", Misty said suddenly breaking me out of my admiration of myself. Maybe I really am kind of vain.

"How did you figure that out?", I never told anyone my plans. It's well known by now that I tend to keep to myself.

"It's not that hard to figure out, baby.', she got out of the bed, still naked and strutted over to me before sitting in my lap.

"You don't talk much but your actions speak for themselves. All the other boys your age who are still in school are preparing to start some business or get a management job at the SDC. You're the only one I know who's spending all of his free time training. When he isn't screwing a new girl or two.", at the last bit she smirked at me and played with her hair.

I didn't look her right in the eyes. Not out of embarrassment of course. I'm not that easy to fluster.

Okay maybe just a little bit.

She seemed to enjoy this reaction as she giggled a little before moving into a full straddle.

"The only reason you could have for putting so much effort into your training even though you're paying the high fees for secondary education is Atlas Academy. At first I just thought that you wanted to join the military at the officer rank but that's not right, is it? No. You wanna be a Huntsman don't you?", by this point she had started humping my crotch and I was also starting to get into it.

"Congratulations. You get a cookie. I'm guessing that if you know then Finn and all the other people who know me are aware too. That would explain why I've been getting more and more matches so frequently. The bastard's probably trying to make as much money as he can with me before I eventually leave.", it was easy to realize this after a little bit of thought.

I really need to pay more attention to things going on around me. Guess putting attribute points in perception is useless if I don't bother trying to perceive anything.

She didn't confirm or deny my thoughts and instead reached down to pull my dick out before starting to ride me. One more round it is then. I'm starting to think that I like sex a bit too much. The odd realization didn't make me any less endusiastic about fucking the woman on top of me though.

I stood up, holding her ass in my hands while she wrapped her legs around my waist and walked back to the bed. The moment we fell back on it I took the initiative to pound her into her bed. The room was filled with the sounds of panting and grunting for a few minutes before she let out a little squeal and tensed up under me.

I took a short break to watch her writhe for a couple of seconds. I loved seeing that face on the girls that I fucked. It's kinda amazing how satisfying it is to know that you caused that. The feeling of dominating a girl so thoroughly.

I fell in love with this feeling after I starting sleeping with other girls. Most are amateurs so I was almost always able to fuck them senseless but Misty was a tougher nut to crack. I rarely ever got to make her lose it like this. It made me feel powerful in a different way than training.

I admired my handy work for a bit before she pulled me into a wet and sloppy kiss. I started going again and this time I didn't stop until I came inside her. I might have needed to fix my outfit again before leaving her apartment to go for training but it was worth it.

**Sexual Arts increases by one point!**

**Sexual Arts 2**

The goofy grin on my face must have looked extra punchable because I swear that there were guys glaring at me all the way to my training spot. Must just be my imagination.

**X-X-X**

**Six Months Until the Initiation.**

**X-X-X**

**Attributes.**

**Aura: D918**

**Vitality: D783**

**Strength: C567**

**Agility: C387**

**Dexterity: C345**

**Intellect: C135**

**Senses: D987**

**Charisma: B210**

**Luck: B547**

**Skills.**

**-Household Care 5**

**-Mixed Martial Arts 6**

**-Swordsmanship 7**

**-Acrobatics 5**

**-Battle Meditation 2**

**-Aura Manipulation 4**

**-Aura Shield 5**

**-Aura Channeling 5**

**-Sexual Arts 4**

"I'm not gonna make it at this rate.", I said as I lay on the roof of my apartment building, watching the stars. "My attributes and skills just aren't growing fast enough anymore."

I'd noticed very quickly that my progress was slowing down. Regular training had long since reached its limits and I don't have access to the sort of equipment needed to do more effective training. The arena is more tedious than funny at this point and I would have already quit if it wasn't essentially my job.

I already had an idea on how to solve my problem but it is one that I dismissed a while ago as unneeded and excessive. I was already hunting solo Grimm that wandered close to Mantle but I've never gone too far from the walls.

But I guess I have no choice now. I need to complete the task. It's just a feeling I have but I'm certain that my semblance will never give me a task that I cannot actually complete.

Desperate times call for desperate measures. I've got six months. I've got to make them count and Grimm hunting is the only thing that's giving me a good amount of rewards these days.

I need to go on an adventure. Like a real hero. I need to experience actual danger just like the arena used to make me feel. Nothing stimulates one's growth more.

Tomorrow I'll buy some fresh gear with a map and plot a route. Close enough for me to run back to safety but far enough that I'll encounter Grimm strong enough to challenge me.

My eyes gleamed with determination as I finalized my decision. Heroes do stuff like this all the time. I'll make it through this and come out far stronger because of it. There is no other option but to success.

**X-X-X**

**In case it isn't clear Adam isn't all good in the head. He is still young and inexperienced despite what he might think. Because of this he has a rather shallow understanding of who he is, what he wants and what he is capable of. He is still power hungry and ambitious but where he drives those aspects differs from canon.**

**His sense of justice and morality is something that we will slowly unravel throughout this story. It will feed into his understanding of what it means to be a hero and vice versa. He won't be completely selfless but he will be his own hero and the hero of those who find their way into his heart.**


End file.
